As hatred marched with love, pleas of mercy and justice filled the auditorium at The Seton Keough High School’s production of “Antigone”. Cries for equality and sensibility accompanied sobs of sadness as the cast welcomed the audience to a modern rendition of a classic tragedy where death is almost always the price.

In the wake of her brothers’ deaths, Antigone desires justice when only one of her brothers, Eteocles, was given a burial. When Antigone’s sister Ismene  refuses to help because of fear of her uncle Kreon, Antigone sets out to bury Polyneices herself. Discovered by the Mayor’s personal assistant, Antigone is imprisoned in a cave to die. As the people of New York plead for Kreon to release Antigone, they are unaware that she has already hanged herself; Kreon’s son and Antigone’s fianc e also dead at her side. Learning this news, Kreon’s wife kills herself, leaving Kreon with the sorrow and regret of his decisions and Ismene alone and uncertain of the future.

Standing strong in the mayhem of her mayorship, Grace LaCount as Kreon commanded the attention of her subjects and the audience, dictating sharp cutoffs of conversations at the flick of a wrist.  LaCount captured the masculine tendencies of a man in power and translated it to each action and word, from deciding the fate of the beloved rebel Antigone to lecturing Kreon’s son about the priorities of loyalty.

Julia Middleton as the Sentry captured every eye as she voiced the mazes of her mind with a talkative angst. Lips pursed, Middleton’s na ve ramblings were matched with larger-than-life facial expressions and body language that mirrored the jumbled thoughts of a person trying to clear their name. This seamless transition from mind to movement allowed the audience to understand Middleton’s pleas through the traditional language of a tragedy.

Introducing musical aspects to the play, Arianna Platania choreographed a beautiful dance to unite the characters that remained at the end of this sorrowful story. Platania’s graceful movements connected with supportive character interactions to bring this tale to a comforting conclusion amid dreadful deaths.

The transitions organized chaos of this tragic tale was accompanied by a form of modern music, Stomp, that mirrored the storyline through its anarchistic tunes. Shoes slammed, brooms brushed, and cans collided to fill the slum streets of a dreary Times Square, enticing the audience with its unique and unexpected clamors. The varying volumes of the vocal Kreon and passionate pleas of Antigone were loud and clear through the impressive sound system managed by Abigail Bulla, no standoff of screams too loud, no whine or whisper unheard.

Captured in the time twisted production, the audience was able to experience the elevated emotions of classical theatre in a captivating modern setting. Through sighs of sadness and cries for change, the cast of Seton Keough’s production of “Antigone” delivered a pleasing performance true to the dramatic flair of traditional tragedies.

by Laurel Cumby of Liberty